Money wasn’t shy about letting everyone know where he thinks he stands among boxing’s greats.
News flash: Floyd Mayweather is confident.
Scratch that. Floyd Mayweather is REALLY confident.
This was none more prevalent than during a recent speaking appearance during Mayweather’s trip through UK, titled ‘The Undefeated Tour,’ where Mayweather broke down where he believed he stands among the all-time greatest (via FightHype.com).
"“When we talk about these champions, legendary fighters, we talk about how they have 100 and something fights, 100 and something victories, but when you look at the history books I still beat more world champions than any fighter in history,” said Mayweather.“I respect these fighters because these fighters are the fighters that paved the way for me to be where I’m at, but there’s no fighter in boxing that [has] accomplished what I accomplished, at all. You can go back as far as you want to go back. “"
To be fair, Mayweather ( 49-0) is consistently placed among the greatest pugilists to ever enter the boxing ring. During his amateur career, he won a bronze medal in the featherweight division at the 1996 Olympics before turning pro.
From here Mayweather would become five-division world champion, Mayweather won 15 world titles and the lineal championship in four different weight classes (twice at welterweight) during his undefeated career. He was twice named The Ring magazine’s Fighter of the Year award (1998 & 2007), became a three-time winner of the Boxing Writers Association of America (BWAA) Fighter of the Year award (2007, 2013, and 2015) and a six-time winner of the Best Fighter ESPY Award (2007–2010, 2012–2014).
Combine this with the fact Mayweather has generated approximately 19.5 million in pay-per-view buys and $1.3 billion in revenue throughout his career, the man known as ‘Money’ has clearly cemented himself among the elite boxer of his era.
But to Mayweather, his numbers are more than enough to put him at the top of the all-times, regardless of the decade.
"“If we go back & look at Marciano’s record, he fought a bunch of ducks,” said Mayweather of undefeated heavyweight Rocky Marciano. “Ali never beat Ken Norton, this is the truth. There’s nothing cool about laying on the rope, taking punishment, and being glorified for that,” he said of Muhammad Ali.“If another fighter is known as the greatest fighter, they say, ‘oh, he’s the greatest.’ Well, then I’m greater in other places. I’m the greatest business man. I’m going to always love Muhammad Ali, always love Sugar Ray Robinson, always love Sugar Ray Leonard, always love every legendary champion; Joe Louis, and the list goes on and on, but one thing I’m not going to say is that they are better than me. That’s not true.”"
In terms of recent competition, Mayweather has not stepped foot inside a boxing ring since his decision win over Andre Berto in September 2015, for which he earned $32 million. Following this win, the leader of The Money Team announced his retirement from the sport, leaving him tied with Marciano for career record.
However, in recent months then, Mayweather has been linked to a hypothetical superfight against UFC lightweight champion Conor McGregor, much to the chagrin of the boxing community.
In an attempt to make the fight a reality, Mayweather claims to have offered McGregor $15 million to accept the bout, citing his price tag was $100 million. However, White countered this offer and said he was willing to offer Mayweather $25 million, plus pay-per-view revenue.
But in typical Mayweather fashion, he could only scoff at White’s offer.
Next: 6 most memorable Conor McGregor quotes of all-time
While there were reports that both sides had finally reached an agreement, Mayweather later shot down the rumors, claiming he was happy in retirement.